Brown County: Lawmaker defends health law

MIDLAND

State Sen. Jim Hundstad, D-Bath, has signed what's called a friend-of-the-court brief defending the constitutionality of the federal health care bill.

Friend-of-the-court briefs are often filed by people with strong interest in a topic who are not parties to a lawsuit.

More than 150 lawmakers from South Dakota and 25 other states have signed the legal brief. They hope to "send a powerful message to the federal appellate court currently considering the Tea Party-fueled challenge to the health care law," according to a news release issued by Hundstad.

Framers of the U.S. Constitution - like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton - would have supported the constitutionality of the federal health care law, Hundstad said.

"So many South Dakota families have benefitted from the provisions of the health law that have already taken effect and so many more stand to benefit from the choice and competition promised by the marketplaces set to go into effect in 2014," Hundstad said in the release.

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South Dakota - led by Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Attorney General Marty Jackley, both Republicans - has joined the lawsuit challenging the federal health care act.